A Classic Case of Heartbreak
by dyingxhearts
Summary: The gang has grown up and apart, but Ulrich's heart still has the same desire.
1. Chapter 1

**(A/N: HELLO FANFICTION!!! This is my FIRST EVER STORY! (Jumps around like a maniac.) Also a warning: if you like happy endings, you might want to turn back, but please, please, PLEASE give this a try: b )**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko, nor do I own the song _25 minutes_ (cries hysterically).**

A young man looking to be in his early twenties roamed a park near a local school. He paused from time to time and looked at his surroundings sighing deeply, reminiscing. Reaching a clearing, a small smile lit up his forlorn face, showing the boyish-handsomeness that had so won the hearts of many. Looking around once more, he lifted the cover on the ground and stepped in.

Unlike the many other times he had gone through this place, he was in no rush to defeat Xana and save humanity. Instead, he walked slowly along, drinking it all in, observing things that he had not when he had hastily passed by as a teen. Reaching the lonely building that had once served as their headquarters and as a gateway to Lyoko, he took the elevator to the scanner room. He entered one of the cylinders, running his hands against the cool metal. He leaned on it, his back against the scanner's wall, while staring at the dimly lit room, but his mind wandered far, through time and space. Letting himself slowly slide down to the ground, he closed his eyes and sighed deeply once more, willing those memories away. They could not be erased, but they could be avoided, and doing so was for the better. How often he had been here, yet everything seemed so strange and different!

A sharp pain on his fingertip brought him back, and he searched the floor for his assailant. His eyes rested on an object that brought tears to his eyes. It was a strip of pictures from a photo booth.

_-flashback-_

"_Ooh, Jeremie, what's that?!" a newly materialized Aelita asked eagerly. The gang was showing her her new home, and took her to a nearby mall to get her some clothes. "Is that another scanner?"_

"_Of course not, that's a silly idea." Jeremie pretended to scold her, but he was obviously enjoying showing her Earth as he knew it. "It's called a photo booth," he continued ", there's a camera inside and you take pictures."_

_Odd had been following behind during most of their time at the mall, preferring his headphones and fries for company. But as he finished off the last crumbs and the current song ended, he was able to overhear their conversation, although a bit confusedly from his enthusiastic head-bopping. Gaining his composure, the blonde-purple headed boy grinned and yelled ", So what are we waiting for?!" He blasted past the pair and yanked them along. Ulrich rolled his eyes, smiling and Yumi laughed as they ran after them._

_The five were crammed into the tight space, a bit uncomfortable, but they were enjoying themselves. The first 3 pictures were taken as Odd kept trying to give Ulrich bunny ears, while Ulrich grabbed Jeremie's glasses and put them on. Half-blind, the blond genius flailed his arms and smacked Odd's face. The two girls stood in the back, almost doubled-over in laughter._

_As the timer counted down for their last picture…_

_5 seconds… Aelita sees a popcorn stand roll by through the curtains and follows, almost hypnotically. A bewildered Jeremie follows suit, yelling for her to wait up._

_3 seconds…Odd, an evil smile on his face, slinks out. _

_2... Ulrich, surprised and embarrassed, turns. A pair of beautiful black eyes, equally shocked, were centimeters away from his own. Blood rushes to his face._

_FLASH!_

_-end flashback-_

Ulrich found himself breathing hard as he relived the experience. "No!" he muttered and shook his head to clear it. But another memory comes to mind…

_-flashback-_

XANA's deletion couldn't have come at a better time. _This was running through the minds of the five teenagers that stood huddled around the computer. They prepared for their final return trip. Jeremie looked up at his friends faces, his vision resting the longest on a certain pink-haired girl, and smiled. A blinding white light engulfed them._

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

_At the sound of the alarm, Ulrich jumped up from his bed. Even Odd woke up quickly, which was quite a strange sight. They grinned at each other, then both grabbed a towel and headed to the showers._

_The school was already bustling with activity, even though it was early in the morning. The showers were backed up, and students hurried in and around campus, chattering excitedly to their friends, filled with barely suppressed energy. The two best friends were no exception, as they waited impatiently for their turn._

_Odd shifted his weight from foot to foot, and he just couldn't help jumping up and down as he repeated for the hundredth time ", I still can't believe we're finally graduating. TONIGHT!" _

_Xana's final attempt destroyed that hope before, but with him out of the picture, Odd's anticipation returned._

_Ulrich, though he wasn't as avid in showing it, felt the same way. His parents weren't able to come, but that didn't dampen his enthusiasm. _Maybe it's for the better, _he thought, then smiled to himself. Though she was a year older and had graduated the year before, Yumi had promised to come and watch. And there was the dance…_

_They barely saw each other anymore, for the high school was across the city, but she still found a way to get to the factory whenever Jeremie alerted her to one of Xana's attacks. Though she was virtualized, her beauty still shone. Only on Lyoko could he admire her; always from a distance. But tonight was the night that would change._

_-_

_One by one, the formally dressed students climbed the stage, accepted their awards from the principal, and then waited for the rest of their class. Once they were all gathered at the front, the parents went wild._

"_They're like the paparazzi," Odd quipped, and everyone around him snickered, including Jeremie and Aelita. _

_Odd, sticking to his usual purple entourage, wore a purple button-up long-sleeve and black slacks. Jeremie wore a similar attire, but his shirt was light blue and he wore a matching tie. Aelita looked stunning in a slightly off-shoulder dress in colors similar to those she wore on Lyoko. The pair held hands, and both wore a flushed but happy expression, giving clues to what he had asked her that morning._

_But Ulrich was the most noticeable of the bunch. With a tux and a tie and his hair perfectly messy, he caught the eye of every other girl he passed by. Not that he cared about them_._ No, throughout most of this time, he stared out into the audience, past the blinding lights, searching, searching. _Where was she?

_Time passed by quickly as all the other classes took their turns. Ulrich, Odd, Jeremie, Aelita, and their class were herded off the stage onto their seats. Afterwards, the principal went on and on how the school valued their talents, blah, blah, blah. The parents cheered like he just won the Nobel Peace Prize, while the audience that the speech was directed towards was half-asleep. _

_The chestnut haired boy took no notice of anything that happened in his surroundings. He kept turning around in his seat, chastised again and again by the teachers. He did not care. He would be gone soon enough._

_They were herded into the auditorium for the after-graduation dance. The dance committee was obviously saving their best for last. Balloons dangled from the ceiling and the confetti was scattered. A banner that read "Kadic Graduation Dance" hung on a wall, while a long table was covered with food and a big bowl of punch, much to the delight of Odd, who headed straight towards it. The disco lights flashed to the beat of the music, and the room was flooded with red and yellow, green and blue. The spacious dance floor was immediately filled. None of the visiting parents were in sight._

_This worried Ulrich, and he sat down at a table. _Would they let her in? Did she even make it? _Of course she would, scolded a silent voice in his head. Have you ever known her to break a promise?_

_Odd, plates of food in hand, followed Ulrich and placed his load on the table. Glancing over at his buddy, he saw the anxiety in his eyes. _

"_Hey, cheer up, lover boy!" Odd said while slapping his friend's back. "She'll get here, and when she does…" He grinned mischievously._

"_Oh, shut up, Odd!" replied Ulrich, still feeling down._

"_Come _ON_ Ulrich! Don't be such a party pooper. Besides, don't you want to enjoy your last day with Sissi?"_

_As if on queue, the school's spoiled princess arrived. She batted her eyelashes at him and turned so the glitter on her pink gown caught the flashing lights. "Ulrich dear, why don't you dance with _ME_?" _

_Ulrich stared at her blankly. This was his night. He didn't need this. _

_Seeing that he won't budge, Sissi gave a small cry of anger and annoyance. She resorted to insults instead._

_Ulrich paid her no mind as she buzzed about him like a mosquito. His eyes were to the auditorium door. _Yumi

_Her floor length dress was red, spaghetti-strap and back-less, complementing her skin. Her raven hair was curled, her white gloves reaching up to her elbow. She wore no make-up, but she seemed to glow with loveliness. She walked elegantly towards the dance floor. He rose from his seat in a daze and left abruptly, leaving Sissi speechless. His eyes never left her face. _

_She seemed to search for someone. Ulrich tried to get to her, but everything seemed to be in the way. He couldn't get past the dancing bodies and nearly crashed into a student passing around food on a platter. It seemed that he never got closer. He could no longer see her. He became frantic. This was his chance, he couldn't lose her._

_She seemed to just float out of the room, across the dance floor, through the back door toward the park. Seconds seemed like hours, but he finally reached the door. _

_He opened the doors and looked around. He felt like he was following a shadow in a dark room. Then he sees her._

_The night was warm, the moon perfectly round, the stars glittering across the sky like a thousand treasures. Fireflies glide lazily through the air, the crickets chirping in the background. He watched as she smiled that glorious smile he had always known. Her face... it was an angel's. They stared into each other's eyes. She closes her eyes and leans forward kissing him gently. _

_Not Ulrich... _William

_Indifferently, Ulrich walks away. But his heart, it was shattered._

_-end flashback-_

He cried. The tears that were held back for so many years cascaded freely down.

Ulrich picked up the pictures, not caring that the drying blood from his paper-cut finger smeared the first three. Gently, tenderly, he tore out the very last one, and holds it close.

He should've taken that chance, he knew, as he stared at the picture once more. He was a coward, afraid of his own feelings. Too prideful to realize that the girl he loved was slipping away.

_Do you think she will take you back?_ The picture seemed to challenge him.

The sensible, fearful part of his brain (which made up most of it) countered. _It's been so long. She's started a whole new life. A life without you. Move on._

Inside, Ulrich was fighting against himself. He felt like he should try, at least try, but the terror of rejection gnawed at him.

He wanted to scream. He looked at the picture in his hand once more. _I'm coming, Yumi. Wait for me._


	2. Reality

**(A/N: Hello my readers! Thanks so much for waiting! I can only update probably every other week...but please keep reading. Now, on with the show...)**

A Classic Case of Heartbreak

Chapter 2: Reality

The light of the rising sun entered his apartment as Ulrich opened the door, his keys jingling quietly. Sunlight cast its reflection on the floating specks in the air. Ulrich walked into the shadows of his small home. He threw his backpack on his bed, raising a small cloud of dust. His phone beeped in greeting, filled with unanswered messages.

The place could barely be called a home. It was barely furnished: a table, a chair, and a few odds and ends looked as if they were dumped in the living room. The walls were bare, not even painted, and he heating didn't work. The only working appliance was his phone. Still, the price was cheap, and so he went with it. His only possession that was worth any value at all was an antique mirror, with a painting of a Japanese scene on its glass. He wouldn't sell it for the world.

Ulrich had hardly noticed the condition of his home, but now he looked around with a critical eye. Yumi would never agree to stay here, if she takes him back anyway. He didn't want her to live the life he had, roaming from place to place, job to job.

What could he do? His parents would never take him back...no that was not a choice. They probably thought he was dead. Why should he even try? Try to regain his old friends, his old love, his old life? Impossible.

He thought he learned how to control his emotions, yet here was being led like a dog on a leash by it. But she might, she might... but it seemed as far away as dreams are from reality. That she would still feel the same is just a flight of imagination. He wants to move on, but his heart is chained.

Once again caught in a turmoil of emotion, torn apart by his love and reality, anger surged through his veins. He wanted to run, run away from it all, like he always did. He ran from his past troubles, even though it meant sacrifice. But it wasn't worth it. _Coward! _Ulrich yelled at himself. _Nothing but a coward!_

His heart stabbed by pain, his eyes blinded by tears, Ulrich sat on the floor as if too weak to cope with the truth any longer. Everything seemed to be shaking. And it was.

The quake lasted for a mere minute. But the world seemed to stop turning. The shattered mirror seemed to drift slowly down like snowflakes, shining in the sun. Ulrich glimpsed his reflection. The person who stared back was a young boy whose face was streaked with tears, and whose heart would never mend.

**(A/N: How do you like it? Short, I know. Review please! Flames are accepted, if that's the only thing that's holding you back. See you next chappie!)**


End file.
